Chapter 230
The following morning, the Detective Bureau.
Luke and Blackie returned on time.
At nine-five in the morning, Susan held a case summarization meeting on time.
Susan pointed to the character tree diagram on the whiteboard, “Yesterday, Ramon and I investigated the suspect Pike.
He has an alibi between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. on July 10th, so we can rule out suspicion for now.
Tell us about the progress of your investigation.”
Jenny said, “Yesterday I had a video call with Lisa’s biological mother and her and Lisa’s statements were basically the same while I went to the cafe where they were at the time to investigate.
They stayed at the cafe between 3 and 5 p.m. on July 7th.
And Lisa’s biological mother returned to New York on July 9th, and there was no time for the crime on July 10th.
My investigation is all of the above.”
The lieutenant continued, “Yesterday we re-investigated the alibis of the Cage’s and ruled out both of them as the perpetrators.
In addition Matthew checked the flow of funds in the couple’s accounts and found no unusual large money transactions.”
After saying that the vice squad spread their hands, “That means all the clues we investigated are broken, and the case is in a bottleneck.”
Blackie raised his hand, “Hey guys, don’t jump to conclusions so early, we have something here.”
Jackson was a little disbelieving, “Weren’t you guys on vacation yesterday? What could we have found out?”
“That’s right, Luke and I did take a vacation yesterday.
So, Luke asked me to go to a three Michelin star restaurant for dinner tonight.
The French blue lobsters from that restaurant are super large, tender and juicy in one bite, and the flavor is especially great.” Blackie described with a face of enjoyment.
The Vice Squad was also a little hard of hearing, “STOP! What does your eating at a three-star Michelin restaurant have to do with this case?”
“Vice team, don’t rush, listen to me slowly. It was a French restaurant, genuinely great and expensive.
Luke and I sat at the table and that atmosphere, it felt ……”
Vice interrupted again, “Who’s buying?”
Blackie points to Luke, “Him, of course.”
The Vice Squad bristled, “I don’t believe Luke would treat you to three Michelin star French food, cut the crap and get to the point.”
“Believe it or not, that’s the truth.” Blackie took out a piece of delicate cotton cloth, “Would you guys look at this and see if it looks familiar?”
Jenny recognized it at once, “This square towel is the same as the cotton cloth that was gagged in the deceased’s mouth.”
“Colorado, you guessed it.
While we were dining, Luke noticed that the hand towel in the restaurant was the same as the one in the dead man’s mouth, then we pulled the surveillance and guess what we saw?”
The lieutenant was disgruntled, “Marcus, has David been gone so long that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to get your ass kicked.
Luke, why don’t you do the talking, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist punching him.”
“NoNo, I can talk fast.
We found the deceased Nancy on the restaurant surveillance video, she went to the restaurant alone at noon on July 9th, she was not coerced or kidnapped, she sat there alone eating a French meal.
The meal cost nearly $1,500 and gave the waiter a hundred dollar tip.”
Jackson was a little unconvinced, “Where did she get that much money, we went to the salon to investigate, her salary plus commission for a month is only about four thousand dollars.”
Blacky hemmed and hawed, “Rookie, learn from your mistakes, that’s the point.”
Jackson pursued, “What key?”
Jackson was a good croupier, but the vice squad didn’t give Blacky a chance to play X. He grabbed the answer, “Nancy committed suicide to cheat on her insurance.”
The lieutenant hit the nail on the head and Black was a little deflated, “That’s right, that’s the common conclusion Luke and I have come to.”
Luke didn’t say a word, just played the video of Nancy showing up at the diner on the projector, to be more powerful than anything else he could say.
The lieutenant gathered his hair with a comb, “Actually, when all the clues broke down, I thought of that possibility, and Luke’s discovery at the diner gave evidence in favor of that supposition.
But this evidence alone is not enough to characterize the case.
Not only do we need more evidence, but we need to find a motive for her suicide.
Money, for one thing, but it shouldn’t be the root cause.
Suicide is easy to say, but people have a desire to live, and it takes a lot of courage to commit suicide.
Unless they are in a desperate situation, no one will commit suicide to cheat the insurance.
So, we’re now not only looking for more incriminating evidence, but also finding the reason why she committed suicide to cheat the insurance.”
The Vice Squad talked in a paragraph.
Xiao Hei had a face of displeasure, this white-haired old man was even more capable of pretending to be X than himself.
Why didn’t you say anything just now?
When I said it, you said it too.
Waiting for me here?
The old man is bad.
After determining the direction of the investigation, the people took the center of Daniel’s restaurant as the node and split up.
In a black Ford Explorer.
While driving, Blackie said, “Why do I feel like the vice squad is targeting me a bit?”
Luke was unimpressed, “He’s not targeting you alone, but everyone.”
“That makes me feel better to hear you say that, where are we going now?”
“To Boarmen Hospital to see Nancy’s family doctor.” In Luke’s opinion, when a person has health problems, they are most likely to do something like commit suicide to cheat the insurance.
Half an hour later, the two drove to the hospital.
Boa Men Hospital is not very large, only the upper and lower three floors, yellow walls, blue glass, the corridor is a little dark once you enter, the lights are on in broad daylight, the walls are also yellow, the doors of one room are brown, and you can’t see anyone.
It was more like a hotel than a hospital.
Nancy’s family doctor was in consulting room 205.
“Knock knock ……”
“Come in.”
Luke and Blackie knocked on the door and walked in.
“Hello, is this Dr. Chad Clare?”
A white doctor put on his glasses and looked at Luke and Blacky, “Yes I am, do you have an appointment?”
Blackie flashed his officer’s badge, “I’m Detective Marcus from the Robbery and Murder Division and this is Lieutenant Luke.
We are investigating a case and would like your assistance.”
“What kind of case? Need to come all the way to the hospital to investigate?”
“Do you know Nancy Cole?”
“Yes, I know her, I’m her family doctor, what’s wrong?”
“She’s dead.”
Chad gave a surprised look, “How did that happen so fast?”
Black asked back, “What do you mean by that? What do you mean that fast? You knew she was going to die.”
“Yes, a while ago she came in for a physical, she had cancer and it was going badly, I suggested she get treatment.
But she had some difficulty accepting it and was sad and resistant to treatment.”
“Is there any chance of her being cured?”
“Of course, there’s a chance with treatment, but it’s hard to say it’s completely cured. Even if it’s temporarily under control, there’s a possibility that it could spread again in the future, and the situation is more complicated.
But at the rate her condition progressed, she shouldn’t have died so quickly, how did she die?”
“She was burned to death.”
“Even the Karma’s …… That’s why you’re here?”
“Yes.”
“SORRY, I’m afraid I can’t help you.
I was just her primary care doctor, but she didn’t come back for a follow-up afterward, and I called her, but she refused treatment.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, she was emotionally unstable, so I referred her to a psychiatrist.
I thought a psychiatrist might be more useful at that time of year.
I even thought that she would come back to therapy with the counseling of a psychiatrist.
But she didn’t.
I’m sorry to hear that.”
Luke said, “I’ll need that psychiatrist’s contact information and address.”
Dr. Chad: “No need.”
Luke sounded solemn, “I need it!”
“She’s downstairs in the clinic.”
Luke “……”
105 Consultation Room.
Luke and Black knocked on the door and walked in.
“Are you Dr. Josephine Blanche?”
A blonde female doctor with eyes looked over at the two, “Yes I am, which one of you sees the doctor?”
Black smiled and asked, “I heard you were a psychiatrist, what do you think?”
Josephine smiled, “I think …… you both need it.”
Blackie ate his words and stopped being clever, introducing the two.
“Police? What’s the matter with you guys?”
Luke pulled out a picture of Nancy, “Do you recognize her?”
“Yes.”
“She came here for heart counseling, a poor woman, I think her name was Nancy.”
“That’s right, we’d like to find out more about her.”
Josephine smiled, “SORRY, I signed a non-disclosure agreement and it’s stricter than yours.”
“Who is your non-disclosure agreement for?”
“My patient Nancy.”
“If Nancy dies, is it still valid?”
“Even if it does ……,” Josephine sighed softly and sat down somewhat helplessly in her chair.
Luke stared at her demeanor, “You’re not very surprised that she’s dead.”
“You guys came down from upstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Then you should know that Nancy had cancer, she was very sad and could easily fall into depression, I’ve seen many similar cases.”
“You think she might have committed suicide?”
“Not sure, but she was desperate and I wouldn’t be surprised to see her do something in that state.”
“Can you describe her condition at the time?”
“I can’t remember the details, but I had video at the time, with her permission.”
“Then let’s see the video.”
“SORRY, even if Nancy is dead, I can’t easily take the video out.
I’m a psychiatrist, and my patient let me videotape out of trust.
I won’t betray her.
Unless, you have the relevant documents.”
“Does it have to be such a hassle?”
“You have your duties, and so do I.”
Luke had no choice but to contact Susan to request the relevant papers and send them directly to the hospital’s printer.
Luke and Blackie both waited for over an hour before the search warrant was faxed over.
It was only then that Dr. Josephine handed the video to the two.
Luke plugged the flash drive into his laptop and began to view the video counseling footage.
In the video, in the same counseling room, sitting in the same spot was a black woman, none other than Nancy.
Dr. Josephine said, “Nancy, now you can talk, why are you so sad?”
“I have cancer.”
“FWIW, I’m sorry to hear that, I can understand your sadness.”
“No, you can’t understand, there is no hope for me anymore.”
“You have to be strong, cancer can be cured, nowadays technology is so advanced, I’ve seen a lot of cured patients, they are all doing well now.”
“You don’t have to comfort me, I know the treatment process will be painful and the chances of a complete cure are slim, I don’t have the courage to persevere.”
Josephine asked, “Are you married?”
“Yes.”
“How is the relationship with your husband?”
“I love him and he loves me.”
“Do you have children?”
“Yes, we have three lovely children, and although they occasionally annoy me, I really love them.”
“Think of your husband, think of your children, they will encourage you, they will be with you through this, and with them by your side, cancer is by no means unbeatable.
You have to remember that love is the greatest force that can overcome anything.”
“I …… may be able to others, but I’m not that strong.”
“Nancy, you have to believe in yourself, even for the sake of the people you love, you have to try to live and be positive about your treatment, as long as you keep an optimistic state of mind, it will help you in your treatment.”
“Dr. Josephine, thank you for your encouragement, I know you’re right …… but I feel like I really can’t hold on anymore.
I’m living a hard, tiring life and I don’t want to hold on any longer.”
“You can tell me if you have any difficulties, let’s figure out how to solve them together, and it will be more comfortable to talk about it.”
Nancy let out a long sigh and slowly said, “For so many years, we have been having a hard time.
Every day is busy, and every day there are endless things to do.
I have to clean up the house and take care of the kids in addition to working, and although my husband helps me, it still feels like a lot of work.
We live hard and we want to provide a good environment for our children so that they don’t have to live at the bottom of the social ladder like us.
For so many years, I have been working hard, always giving again, never living for myself.
I firmly believe that as long as I work hard, my children and I will have a better life where we can live in a big, spacious and beautiful house, have decent jobs and enjoy the rest of our lives.
I have always believed ……
Always tried ……
But what did I end up with?
Cancer!
God, why did you do this to me?
I live so seriously, I live so hard, why do you tease me?
I’m lost.
I don’t know what the point of trying is.
I can’t see hope anymore.” Nancy slowly closed her eyes as if she had resigned herself to her fate.
Josephine sighed softly and said in a gentle but firm tone, “Nancy, it’s not over, cancer is not the end.
You should pull yourself together.
Once you get through this, everything will be fine.
I believe that your efforts are not meaningless.
It’s just that it’s not time to reap the rewards yet.
Think of your husband and children.
Give yourself another chance.
Even if you fail, you won’t have any regrets.”
Nancy shook her head, “No, I have seen that my efforts are meaningless.
There are some things that you can’t get just by working hard.
Just like the guests in our salon, many of them have everything from birth.
They don’t need to do anything, they just have to be happy and enjoy life every day.
If they eat one meal, they can pay for my family’s food for a month.
A beauty treatment for them can cover half a month’s salary for me.
They have a big house that they can’t even bother to rent out.
And me?
Nothing.
Don’t even dare to think about it.
The world is unfair, I can never live like them.
I can’t see hope ……”